


Roughing It

by ElenaCee



Series: Devil's Trap [11]
Category: Lucifer (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Camping, Cuddling & Snuggling, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Flying, Swimming, The Devil Can't Swim, Wing Grooming, Wingfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-09
Updated: 2017-06-15
Packaged: 2018-10-29 22:59:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 15,082
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10863870
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ElenaCee/pseuds/ElenaCee
Summary: The Devil, a miracle, and a little girl go on a camping trip. (In which Lucifer refuses to do the mummy impression.)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> You asked for it, now you're getting it. The Decker-Morningstar family camping trip.

 

Chloe opened her eyes to darkness.

Well, relative darkness, considering the residual light filtering in through the windows in the penthouse and making things just bright enough for her to make out silhouettes and outlines. Not that she needed any light to know that she was right where she wanted to be, and who she wanted to be with. Lucifer’s head was a warm, welcome weight resting against her shoulder, his even breathing a calming sound, and his arm across her waist a soothing anchor.

Oh yes, the Devil was a cuddler.

And he was also, she was surprised and delighted to find, currently in his Devil form.

It happened from time to time that he shifted in his sleep, apparently without meaning to or without even noticing. As far as she was aware, the longest it had lasted was maybe five minutes. Chloe hadn’t yet managed to find a pattern to this subconscious shifting. Sometimes, he did it just after falling asleep, or just before waking up, or, as seemed to be the case now, when he was in deep sleep.

Angels didn’t dream, but Lucifer certainly had different phases to his sleep; phases when he would wake up at the softest sound, and brief ones when it was almost impossible to wake him - not that Chloe had seriously tried. She treasured every minute he spent asleep next to her, since he didn’t need much sleep in the first place and usually was up again one or two hours after having gone to bed.

But this, holding the sleeping Devil in his true form in her arms, was even more precious to her. It was a sign of how much he trusted her, how safe he felt with her; and it was very probably unprecedented in his long existence. Even more amazing since she had learned how suspicious he normally was of nearly everyone else around him.

Slowly, she turned her head until her lips touched his hairless scalp, feeling the inhuman warmth he radiated in this form, the textures of the smooth, scorched skin. Afraid that he might shift back any second now and that her chance to do it would be gone, she also moved one hand, very carefully, to rest it on his face, fingers spread to touch as much of it as she could, lightly, so very lightly.

His breathing stalled for a bit, and she held her breath, afraid she had woken him up, but he exhaled on a soft sigh, not stirring, not shifting back.

She pressed her lips against his scarred skin, eyes closing as a shock wave of affection crested and crashed into her. It was almost too much. During the day, when she had her job and her daughter and her responsibilities, she mostly managed to keep her feelings in check. But sometimes during the night when they shared a bed, she found herself inundated by the things she felt for the actual Devil she had chosen to spend her life with, by the very fact that Lucifer really was the Devil and she a literal miracle, by the divine machinations she had found herself in, and by the awareness that, despite his personal history, despite the implications, Lucifer had chosen her, even though it probably meant playing his designated part in his Father’s game.

It was at times like this that Chloe, who had never believed in God, found herself praying to Lucifer’s Father, who might, if this crazy path were to be walked to its destination, eventually turn out to be her father-in-law.

And wasn’t  _ that _ a crazy concept.

_ Okay, God, _ she thought, picking up where she had left it the night before,  _ in a way it’s Your fault that he’s looking like this now, right? I mean, he acts like it doesn’t hurt him, and it probably doesn’t, or he wouldn’t turn into this shape in his sleep, but still. He burned. He still bears the scars. Do something, okay? And also… _

She carefully ran the tips of her fingers over the uneven shapes, feeling the ridges of the scars, the paper-thin skin barely covering bone and sinew.  _ And also, he hates this face, this form. He only assumes it to punish humans, to scare them. Can You imagine what it does to him, thinking that his true form is something to be feared? Thinking that he is not worthy of being loved? I keep telling him that he is, but I don’t think it registers with him. Eons of thinking oneself unworthy will do that to a soul, God. And I don’t think I’ll have enough time to heal all the damage You did. _

As always, there was no response, neither in words, nor in any other kind of sign Chloe recognized. Her heart aching, she gently brushed her fingertips back and forth across Lucifer’s face, gently caressing him, pressing her lips more firmly against his skull in a lingering kiss, hoping that some of her love and compassion for him would somehow permeate the crust of his self-hatred and find its way into his soul.

Maybe it did, slowly, steadily, because he still hadn’t shifted back, and it had been more than five minutes now since she’d found him like this.

It was paradoxical, and yet, holding him like this brought out all her protective instincts, even though he was literally invulnerable in his Devil form. But he didn’t feel invulnerable, all scarred and inhumanly hot. The thin, smooth skin might tear open if she pulled on it too hard, or at least that was what her instincts kept telling her. It made her want to pull the duvet up more tightly to keep his warmth in, to wrap him up in softness to keep him from harm. Which was not just paradoxical, but flat-out ridiculous.

This whole thing was ridiculous, but that was what her life had become. Feeling protective towards the Devil who was the most powerful being on this plane of existence; actively working on giving him a family to be a part of; trying to prove his worth to him because his own family had failed so hard at it.

“I love you, Lucifer Morningstar, my Lightbringer,” she whispered against his skin. “Please, please, believe it.”

 

* * *

 

She must have fallen asleep at some point, because when she next opened her eyes, it was broad daylight. The scent of coffee was in the air, and she could hear soft voices from the kitchen area.

The voices fell silent as soon as she raised her head, and two seconds later, the sound of little running feet approached, culminating in Trixie launching herself into the bed and her arms.

“Mommy! You’re awake! You were sleeping sooo long, but Lucifer said I shouldn’t wake you.”

“Hey, Monkey,” Chloe said, hugging her daughter close and noticing that she was fully dressed and smelled of toothpaste. “How long have you been awake?”

“Hours and hours,” Trixie said. “I’ve been telling Lucifer what to pack for the trip.”

“It was only about fifty minutes, Beatrice,” Lucifer interjected from where he was leaning against the wall where the door to his bedroom would be if his penthouse had any doors, “and your suggestions are duly noted. Good morning, Chloe.” He, too, was fully dressed and groomed.

“Why didn’t you wake me?” Chloe said, throwing the covers aside and feeling thoroughly behind the proceedings.

He gave her his genuine smile. “You were making these adorable snuffling noises”, he said, as if that explained it. He produced a travel mug from behind his back. “This is to get you started, love, since other methods are currently off-limits. Brekkie will be ready in ten.”

 

* * *

 

“You really want me to come along with you,” Lucifer half-stated, half-asked, a noticeable undertone of disbelief in his voice.

“Of course,” Chloe said, her own disbelief probably evident. “You coming along is the whole point of this trip, Lucifer.”

He gave her a faint smile and a brief nod that fairly screamed how unsure he was about all this. Like he still doubted that anyone would want his company for anything that didn’t involve sex or punishment. Like he still didn’t believe she wanted him in her personal life.

She suppressed a fond sigh. Convincing the Devil that he was worthy of being loved was clearly a perpetual work in progress. “We leave tomorrow at nine. Pack shoes you can actually walk in. I assume you never got blisters on your feet before, but you’ll get them if you try to hike in these while you’re with me,” she said, nodding at his expensive leather dress shoes.

He looked at his feet and up again, clearly not comprehending, but letting it go with a shrug.

“Also,” she went on, “a sleeping bag and an air mattress. I have a spare, but I doubt it’s long enough for you.”

He raised his eyebrows and gave her the doe eyes. “Aww. I thought I could snuggle in with you.”

The doe eyes were formidable, but she was the mother of a child. “Lucifer.”

He escalated from doe to puppy dog. “But it’ll be so much warmer and cozier.”

Good thing his charm didn’t work on her. “There won’t be enough room for the two of us inside my sleeping bag.”

He sighed, dropping the act. “Well, I refuse to do the mummy impression. I’m a celestial being. I don’t need a sleeping bag.”

She had a sudden vision of Lucifer bringing some elaborate field bed and down pillows and duvets, delivered from a truck right to the camping site, and her heart sank. Maybe this had been a bad idea. Maybe she shouldn’t subject him to all this if he genuinely wasn’t going to be comfortable.

“Anyway,” he added, oblivious to her misgivings, “since I apparently need hiking boots, I’d better get going. See you tomorrow at nine, Chloe. Text me if you change your mind.”

 

* * *

 

She didn’t change her mind.

Of course she didn’t. It would mean breaking her daughter’s heart, who had been talking about nothing else but this upcoming trip with Lucifer. Whatever curve balls the Devil might throw her, she resolved to somehow soldier through. She’d had a lot of practice, after all.

 

* * *

 

“Mommy, where’s Lucifer?” Trixie asked, trying not to pout.

It was one minute to nine, and no trace of the Devil, or of his car. “Maybe he’s stuck in traffic,” Chloe said, checking her phone. No messages.

Her own car was already loaded with their gear, all the doors standing open to allow last-minute packing, with a little room left for whatever Lucifer might decide to bring. Provided he decided to show up at all, a little voice added.

“He’ll be here,” she said, trying to chase away memories of spending their first date alone at the restaurant. That had been ages ago. He wouldn’t do that again. He wouldn’t.

“Indeed he will be,” Lucifer’s voice said from behind her.

Turning around, she saw him standing there as if he’d materialized out of thin air. No car, just him. “How did you…”

“Lucifer!” Trixie yelled, launching herself at him.

To Chloe’s surprise, he didn’t flinch or avoid the hug. Instead, he went down onto his haunches to catch her. “Good morning, Beatrice.”

“Did you fly here?” Trixie wanted to know, latching on like a limpet.

“Hmhm. That’s what wings are for, little one.”

“Cool!”

He pried her off and raised himself back up. Chloe noticed he was wearing his black leather jacket, black jeans, and, yes, hiking boots. So, he had listened to her. Also, he had a small black leather trolley standing next to him, the kind that would pass for hand luggage.

“Is that all you’re taking?” Chloe asked. It didn’t look big enough to contain a sleeping bag or an air mattress, let alone both. So maybe not listening after all.

“All I’ll need, yes,” he said, picking it up and putting it into the trunk.

She bit down on any remark about not sharing her sleeping bag with him, or whatever else he’d decided he didn’t need but probably would. This whole thing was for Trixie, and she wasn’t going to spoil it for her daughter by bickering. He’d just have to learn the hard way, then. “I hope you brought at least a toothbrush,” she couldn’t resist getting a dig in.

Lucifer closed the trunk, looking at her as though worried for her mental health. “Of course. And other things. I was thoroughly instructed by Beatrice, after all. And I brought this.” Reaching into an inside pocket of his jacket, he produced an iPod. “Road trip music.”

 

* * *

 

The drive to their designated camping site took four hours, but only because Lucifer had insisted on driving. That was one battle Chloe should have insisted on fighting and winning, but in the end, the prospect of being on the road with a bored Devil riding shotgun and an impatient child in the back for seven hours had swayed her. Like Lucifer had known it would.

Anyway, now here they were. The site they had chosen to pitch their tent was a little away from the main clutter of temporary residents, secluded behind some hedges and sheltered by a tree to keep the morning sun away from the tent, with a cute little banked fireplace nearby for their exclusive use.

Their gear unloaded from the car, they were currently trying to put up the tent. Or at least, Chloe was. Trixie was too small for effective help, and Lucifer seemingly enjoyed watching her struggles too much to find it in him to assist. Instead, he was sitting on his trolley, dividing his attention between his phone and cheering her on from the sidelines.

“Lucifer,” she finally said, exasperated, “come over here and make yourself useful.”

He grinned. “Ooh. Do you know what it does to me when you get commanding?” He did put his phone away to come over to her, though.

“I have a pretty good idea, yeah. Here, hold this up like this while I -”

“Do you even know how this contraption works?”

She narrowed her eyes at him. “I’ve put this tent up about five times, so, yeah, I know what I’m doing. I could do it alone, but this bit is tricky and really needs a second pair of hands.” A thought struck. “You know, if Dan were here, we’d have had this thing up and all our things in it ten minutes ago.”

She’d meant it as an incentive to spur him on, but the minute it was out of her mouth, she knew it had been a mistake to say it.

“Well,” he said, grin fading, “if Daniel is so much better suited to this, why didn’t you ask him in the first place? I still don’t know what I’m doing here.”

_ Dammit _ . She rose and took his hands. “Because I don’t want Dan here, I want you here. With us.” She sighed. “Look, I know you’re out of your element, and it may have been wrong of me to force you to come out here -”

He put a finger onto her lips. “Don’t. You didn’t force me to do anything. I wouldn’t have come if I didn’t want to be here.” He went back to doing what she’d been telling him to do. “Besides, what do you think my ‘element’ is, Chloe?”

With his help, she managed to push the final pole into position. “Well, solid housing, for one. Satin sheets and hot tubs, for another.” She adjusted the tent to its final position and began to put in the tent stakes.

He watched, then moved to help her, easily pushing in the stakes with his bare hand where she needed to use a rubber hammer. “No. My ‘element’ is the air. Heaven. That’s where I grew up. The luxuries of the Silver City far surpass anything humanity has ever invented. In a very real way, I’ve been roughing it ever since I Fell.” He gestured at the tent, now nicely staked out. “This, or Lux, or Hell, it’s all really basic compared to the Silver City. It’s all similarly primitive and barbaric to me.”

“Really?” It wasn’t that she didn’t believe him. It was just that she… couldn’t imagine anything more luxurious than his penthouse above Lux. And that was supposed to be ‘primitive’ and hardly better than living in a tent?

“Really.” He looked away and did a double take. “Oh, hello.”

Chloe looked, too, only to find that their efforts at pitching the tent had drawn a small crowd of other campers. Or, she supposed, maybe it was just Lucifer’s presence. It was certainly true that he was no less attractive in jeans and leather than he was in bespoke suits.

During the next fifteen minutes, they learned the identities of all their neighbors and where their respective tents or caravans were; Lucifer received two non-verbal invitations and a non-verbal death threat (from one of the spouses); Chloe received a number of compliments on her husband (she didn’t bother to correct anyone), and Trixie proudly proclaimed to everyone who would listen that Lucifer was her new Daddy (neither Chloe nor Lucifer bothered to correct her).

When they finally were alone again, Chloe noticed that the sun had disappeared behind a really black cloud. “Guys,” she said, “it’s looking like rain, let’s put our things into the tent before they get wet.”

“Can’t you do anything about the weather, Lucifer?” Trixie wanted to know while they scurried back and forth between heap of gear and tent.

“Wrong deity,” Lucifer replied. “Besides, the weather takes care of itself, just like volcanoes and earthquakes.”

“God doesn’t do anything about any of them?”

“No, He just made the earth in all its capriciousness, and then put things onto it, to watch what happens.”

“Like the Sims?”

Lucifer’s eye found Chloe’s in a silent question as he haphazardly tossed their sleeping bags into the tent.

“Yeah,” Chloe said, “actually, it sounds very similar. It’s a game, Lucifer. We have it on our computer at home. You design houses, towns, and the people that live in it, personality and all. You can even give them a degree of free will.”

“So, you can actually play God. Creation Simulator. You humans.” He shook his head, looking up briefly. “You hear that, Dad? Even the humans’ creations have free will. You bastard.”

“Lucifer!”

Trixie giggled.

Just then, the sky opened up, forcing a strategic retreat into the tent and making Chloe wonder just how much God did or did not interfere with the weather.

 

* * *

 

Being cooped up with Trixie and Lucifer in a tent in the rain was like having two children instead of one, Chloe mused.

The Devil had proclaimed that he was bored after ten minutes of listening to the rain pattering onto the waterproofed fabric, giving Chloe a suggestive leer that she was obliged to shut down, much to her regret. There would be none of that all trip, unless they could find a way for Trixie to be safely occupied elsewhere.

Since the tent offered the opportunity to stand upright to people of average height, but not to veritable giants, Lucifer was forced to either sit down or lie down if he didn’t want to stoop down all the time. And so, he was sitting on his trolley, barefoot (no shoes allowed inside the tent), fidgeting.

Trixie was actually much more reasonable about this than the Devil. She was used to having to kill time on camping trips whenever the weather wouldn’t play along, so she had already inflated her air mattress and unrolled her sleeping bag, snuggling in and leafing through one of her books. If Chloe knew her daughter, she would be asleep within minutes. It had been a long drive.

Chloe, meanwhile, was using the time to set up the cooking equipment and her own sleeping accommodation. And speaking of…. “Since you obviously didn’t bring anything, how do you intend to spend the nights, Lucifer?”

“In heavenly comfort,” he replied enigmatically, eyeing the sleeping area and the space of tent floor reserved for him that was currently only covered by a blanket. “Well. In rather cramped heavenly comfort, but comfort nonetheless.” He had taken out his phone and was peering unhappily at what looked to Chloe like a weather app. “Look at this. At least one more hour of rain. Whatever are we gonna do to pass the time?” For once, it seemed like a genuine question, asked without any hidden (sexual) agenda.

“Well,” Chloe said, noticing how comfortable Trixie seemed to be in her cocoon, “while we can’t go exploring without everything getting drenched, I’m going to make use of one of the luxuries of vacation time: take a nap.” Suiting action to words, she shook out her sleeping bag and lay down on it.

He watched her, frowning. “A nap? In broad daylight?”

“Hmhm. We’re not missing anything, I’m a little tired from the drive, and the sound of rain against the tent will put me right to sleep.” She looked at him, sitting folded up on his trolley, all shoulders and knees, and she patted the floor next to her. “It may even work for you, though I realize that rain isn’t exactly a homey sound to you hellions. Come on, just try it.”

He blinked at her doubtfully, the silence in the tent only disturbed by the soft pitter patter of water dropping on canvas. Then, with a soul-deep sigh that eloquently told her he was only doing it for her, he came over to his designated resting place and sat down on it, long legs folded and arms wrapped around them.

She patted the floor again.  _ Honestly _ . “Lie back. It’ll work better if you relax.”

He blinked some more, then got up again and opened his trolley, rummaging around in it.

Curious, Chloe raised up on one elbow to see what he had got in there.

Before she could see anything, something soft hit her in the face. Peeling it off her, she found that it was an inflatable pillow.

He levered himself down onto the floor again and plucked the pillow from her hands. It inflated with a hissing sound.

Chloe had to hand it to him; he’d actually come prepared. Ish. At least his head would be comfortable. She still wondered how he intended to keep warm at night.

Undeterred, he lay back with his head on the pillow, hands folded on his abdomen, and gave her a look as if to say, now what?

Wordlessly, she closed her eyes, sighing and relaxing. As soon as her eyes were closed, she realized how tired she was. Hopefully, she’d be able to get in a power nap before the Devil started getting bored again.

Next to her, she could hear Lucifer fidgeting as he tried to get comfortable on the hard ground, but at least he kept quiet.

The sound of rain against canvas began to work its magic on her. Her thoughts began to scatter. Trixie snuggling against her side briefly roused her, but after a short while, she felt herself drifting off again, and the sound of rain abruptly cut off from her conscious mind.

 

* * *

 

When she opened her eyes again, the rain had stopped.

It was still daylight, but other than that, she had no idea how long she’d been napping. Wondering why neither child nor Devil had woken her up, she first looked at Trixie, lying fast asleep with her head cradled in the crook of her arm.

Turning her head to the other side, she encountered white feathers.

Lucifer was lying curled up on his side, one wing completely covering him, the other cushioning him from the ground. She smiled. Heavenly comfort, indeed.

His eyes were closed, but even as she was taking in his relaxed features, he blinked them open to look at her placidly.

She looked back into his dark eyes, not feeling the need to move, or to speak.

From outside, the sounds of the camping site coming back to life after the rain had put a temporary stop to everything reached her ears. Someone was calling someone else to dinner. Two passing voices were discussing whether to drive into the closest town or stay onsite.

Through it all, Chloe was looking into a Fallen Angel’s eyes, watching him glow softly with his love for her; a divine being was resting in her very ordinary tent covered by angelic wings while somewhere, someone was trying and failing to start their car and cursing.

Chloe smiled at the absurdity of it all.

“I want to take a look around,” Lucifer said softly. “Let’s go flying.”

 


	2. Chapter 2

“This looks like a good place,” Lucifer said, looking out at the expanse of tree tops below.

They had walked maybe a couple of miles, using a well-trodden wilderness trail that led uphill, away from the campground and into the surrounding area. Following the rain, the sun had come out, bathing everything in a late afternoon glow and making the water droplets clinging to the leaves and blades of grass all around them sparkle and glisten.

Chloe had enjoyed stretching her legs after the drive and the nap, breathing in the clean air that smelled of earth and growing things, walking along as briskly as Trixie’s pace allowed. Her daughter, of course, had been bouncing along with her usual energy, now and then casting pleading glances at Lucifer.

Now, they had reached the crest of a hill that was topped by a wide meadow, like a green bald head.

“Are you going to go flying here?” Trixie asked, for the third time.

“We’re all going to go flying, child,” Lucifer said, opening the small bag he had brought along and pulling out a mass of padded straps and metal rings.

“Cool!” Trixie said, craning her head to look at what he was doing. “At the same time?”

“Hmhm.” Lucifer straightened and held out three separate strap convolutes. “Uh, before you lay into me about things that are not done in front of your child, this is not what it looks like, Chloe.”

“Hm,” she said, “it looks like three safety harnesses. That not what it is?” She blinked at him innocently.

He smiled in delight, like he always did when she outsmarted him, something that hadn’t changed since their first case together.

She took the harness he handed to her, noticing the D-rings and safety clips front and back. “Aren’t the two of us too heavy for you to carry at the same time?” Chloe wondered when she realized what he was up to.

“Nope,” he said, holding Trixie’s harness out for her. “Your car might be too heavy, but I’ll hardly notice your weight.”

Right. Supernatural strength. One of these days, she would get used to him being much, much stronger than he looked.

They put on their harnesses, Trixie needing a bit of help to see which way was up and how to fasten it. Chloe had just finished adjusting hers when she yelped, feeling herself lifted clear off the ground.

Lucifer easily held her with his index fingers by the two D-rings on her back, one between her shoulders and one at the small of her back. “Seems okay,” he said, putting her down again. “How did that feel? Not too tight? Comfortable?”

She slapped his shoulder. “A little warning first, next time.”

He grinned, unrepentant.

She shook her head. The Devil was like a little boy sometimes. Okay, often. “But yeah, feels fine.”

“Think you can stay like this for a short while?”

She nodded. The harness was obviously high-quality, the straps padded and broad enough to prevent biting into the skin. “Not just a short while. It’ll be okay, Lucifer.”

Five minutes later, they were ready for takeoff, Chloe buckled to Lucifer’s chest, standing on his feet, and Trixie buckled to her. His wings were out, and as he flapped them, he achieved lift easily despite the added weight.

“Right,” he said. “Let’s go see what’s out there.”

 

* * *

 

Oh yes, Chloe thought, this was much better than being carried in his arms, romantic as that had been.

Suspended underneath him, she could pretend to be actively flying, her arms held out to her sides (as soon as she’d come to trust the harness to hold Trixie secure), her feet hooked over Lucifer’s legs. He wrapped his arms around her, holding her loosely, more in reassurance than to actually carry her weight.

They were soaring low over the trees, fast enough to cover some ground, not too fast to miss anything; trees, small clearings, startled deer, song birds scattering in fear as they passed overhead. The horizon opened up before them, gently rolling hills and jagged mountains as far as the eye could see, interspersed here and there by small townships.

The world turned blue briefly as they crossed a hiking trail with two hikers on it, then went back to its rich Earthly tones.

“What just happened?” Trixie wanted to know.

“Angelic cloaking,” Lucifer said, not bothering to explain about crossing into other planes of existence. “I didn’t want these chaps to see us.”

“Like a Romulan Bird of Prey?”

“Exactly, only I’m an Infernal Devil of Punishment.”

Trixie giggled, stretching out her arms like Chloe was doing. “This is so cool.”

Some more minutes passed. A lake glistened in the distance, and as Lucifer climbed, the coastline became visible.

“How high up can you go?” Trixie asked over the soft sounds of wind passing through his feathers and the flapping of his wings as Lucifer slowly gained altitude.

“I can leave the atmosphere, but for now, we’re staying where it’s warm and nobody will suffocate.”

“You can go into space?” Chloe clarified. “Really? How do your wings work when there’s no air?”

“You’re still hung up on this notion that I’m bound by the physical laws of this plane of existence, darling,” he said, and she could hear the smile in his voice.

“Well, in my defense, up until a few weeks ago, I didn’t even know that there were other planes of existence, so.”

He inclined his head to brush a kiss against her nape. She could hear his breathing, deepened from the exertion of flying. “You’re doing great, my love. You’ll get used to the rest in no time.”

They fell silent. The landscape passed underneath them, trees and meadows much smaller now that they were higher up, a mountain coming up in front, approaching slowly. Birds soared underneath, some crows flew up to inspect them, cawing, then veering off as they left their territory. In the distance, an airplane crossed their path.

“Can they see us?” Chloe broke the silence.

“Too far away,” Lucifer said. “I doubt we’re even on their radar. Not enough metal, and too small.”

The mountain came closer; grey rock with scattered patches of green, plateaued, craggy, and clearly not often visited by hikers. Only one trail was visible, and it was currently devoid of people.

“Are you okay down there, child?” Lucifer asked after a while. “You’re disturbingly quiet.”

“Yes, Lucifer!” Trixie replied. “I’m imagining I’m an angel and I have wings, and it’s sooo cool. Magic Mountain has nothing on this sh-- thing.”

Chloe smiled and shook her head, but didn’t say anything about her daughter’s near-slip. They were flying. Keeping Trixie’s vocabulary clean seemed like such an insignificant thing to worry about.

“Right,” Lucifer said. “How do you feel about landing somewhere on that and watching the sun go down, then?”

“Yay!”

“That sounds really nice, Lucifer,” Chloe added to her daughter’s enthusiasm.

Rapidly, the mountain came closer; it was now possible to see individual trees and the strata on the rock. Lucifer seemed to be going for a particular ledge on the west face of the mountain, sheer, nearly vertical rock walls above and below it, large enough to hold maybe a dozen people if they stood close to one another. A single struggling pine tree grew on it, clinging to the rock with its thin covering of dirt. The evening sun was shining fully on it, while in the valley below, the shadows already stretched long and dark.

The rock wall came up quickly, and suddenly, it loomed right in front of them. Lucifer pulled himself up, vigorously flapping his wings to slow down, and landed with barely a stumble, holding Chloe close to him to keep his balance.

The unhooked from one another and sat down onto their jackets spread on the soft grass undisturbed by man (or woman). The view from up here was spectacular. The Pacific glistening in the far distance as the sun was approaching it, rolling hills, shadowed vales, a slight haze bathing everything in a soft glow.

Chloe leaned into Lucifer’s side, Trixie snuggled into his other side, his wings enveloping them, sheltering them from the cool wind while the slowly setting sun warmed their fronts.

After a while, Lucifer pulled his flask out of an inside pocket of his jacket and took a swig, offering it to Chloe.

She started to shake her head, then thought better of it. She was on vacation. She was sitting on a ledge where possibly no one (certainly only very few people, if any) had ever been, since it wasn’t accessible except by flight, or by some very dangerous climbing. She was with the people she loved most in this world. And also, no phone reception up here - well and truly off the grid. Surely all that was occasion enough for a little celebration.

“That’s right, be a devil,” he said, nudging her and handing her the flask.

“One devil per family is plenty, Lucifer.” Carefully, she took some into her mouth, feeling the gentle twinge of expensive alcohol on her tongue.

“Mommy, I’m thirsty,” Trixie chimed in.

Mommy, of course, had come prepared. She pulled out the packaged juice she had brought just for this occasion and handed it to Trixie. Soon, slurping sounds could be heard while she and Lucifer passed the flask back and forth.

The sun was setting, casting everything in purple and red.

This, Chloe thought, was it. The apex. The zenith of her life so far.

“Can we build a fire and stay the night?” Trixie asked.

“Of course,” Lucifer said immediately.

Chloe opened her mouth to say no, but something made her stop. She would be lying if she didn’t see the attraction, the thrill, of spending the night on this ledge. But the parent in her was worried about safety, about sudden weather changes, the fact that they didn’t have anything to protect them from the elements (except Lucifer’s wings, another voice put in), and the fact that they didn’t bring any provisions or even a toothbrush. Or toilet paper. “Maybe another night,” she said. “We’d have to bring some stuff.”

“Tomorrow?” Trixie immediately followed up, sensing weakness and utilizing it like the accomplished little manipulator that she was, and Chloe couldn’t even fault her for it.

“Trust me, it’ll be fine,” Lucifer threw in his two cents. “We can alway be back on the site within ten minutes if we must.”

“Well….”

Trixie beamed at her. “What can possibly happen, Mommy? We’ve got the Devil to protect us.”

 

* * *

 

They didn’t spend the night on that ledge. Chloe put her foot down, but she agreed to letting herself be held to her promise to come back tomorrow, with more gear. They did build a campfire from wood Lucifer collected from the surrounding area. As he landed with the heap of dry branches held in his arms, Chloe was reminded so forcefully of an eagle building a nest that she made herself grin stupidly.

True to his title, her Lightbringer lit the wood on fire, apparently simply by staring at it. The flames illuminated the ledge, emphasizing the dark abyss beyond and making Chloe feel like the three of them were the only living beings on Earth, and that nothing else existed beyond this ledge. They didn’t talk; they simply sat next to the fire, huddled together and enjoying the unique atmosphere while the flames slowly died down.

The flight back to the campground afterwards, through total darkness with scattered lights down below and the stars above, was something Chloe was sure she’d remember for the rest of her life. Relying so completely on the Devil and his strength and his wings and his night vision while surrounded by and suspended above nothingness, just feeling the wind caress her skin and hair and listening to the rustling of his feathers as his wings beat slowly, made her feel small and brave at the same time, and cherished, and, yes, special.

For once, Trixie didn’t ask for a bedtime story.

 

* * *

 

Later, when Trixie was fast asleep, Chloe learned that even her high-tech, lightweight sleeping bag could not offer the comfort and warmth and feeling of security afforded by angel wings as she lay snuggled against Lucifer’s side, his arms around her, his wings underneath and covering her, and she fell asleep with the certainty that life couldn’t get any better than this.

 

* * *

 

And even later, when the birds were already beginning their early morning chirping, Chloe was lying on her side with Lucifer facing her, one arm around Lucifer’s chest, her hand resting on his back on the root of one of his wings. She had slipped her fingers underneath the vane feathers and into the soft down feathers beneath until she could touch the hot skin of his wing, and now Lucifer was having trouble keeping quiet, much to her amusement.

She moved her fingers around the shafts of the coverts where they grew from his body while he shuddered, beside himself with pleasure, gasping fast hot breaths against her.

“Shh,” she whispered, “don’t wake up Trixie,” all the while stroking the skin, slowly making her way along his wing as far as she could reach, amazed how soft his skin was there, and how sensitive.

His wing quivered as she stroked it, slowly spreading out, the primaries fanning and finally brushing against the tent walls. He looked up blearily as his feathers touched the tent fabric and pulled his wing back in to cover them both again, letting his head fall down onto Chloe’s shoulder.

She cradled his head in her other arm, holding him, stroking his face and caressing his wing at the same time, hoping to make up for the long millennia when he hadn’t had any of this, feeling him soak up her attentions like a sponge.

Eventually, he fell asleep with her hand still buried in his feathers, and she followed him soon after.

 

* * *

 

When Chloe woke up, Trixie was snuggled into her, covered by Lucifer’s wing. The girl clearly also had decided that being kept warm by the Devil and his feathers was better than being inside of a sleeping bag. The sun was up, the leaves of the tree casting dancing shadows onto the tent canvas.

As soon as he noticed her stirring, Lucifer reached out a hand to gently run his fingers through her hair, brushing it away from her face. The earnest look in his eyes as he regarded her from up close made her feel cherished, so valued and protected. She could only hope that she was able to do something similar for him, give him these same feelings.

Well. She didn’t presume to be able to protect the actual Devil, except from himself. But she sincerely hoped that he still felt as safe and as loved in her presence as she did in his.

“Are we going to go flying again today?” Trixie said into the silence, interrupting the moment.

Chloe could see the smile develop in Lucifer’s eyes before it reached his lips. “The little spawn is quite insatiable, is she,” he said softly.

“She just knows a good thing when she sees one,” she replied, deadpan.

Lucifer raised his eyebrows. “Right. So, here’s the deal, Beatrice. You help me get my feathers in order now, and we can go flying later. Deal?”

“Deal!”

 

* * *

 

Chloe had left them to it, content in the knowledge that her next turn to preen his feathers would come, and went to take care of provisions. She had of course brought the essentials, but it was always nice to have fresh stuff.

There was a small convenience store on site. As she took a look at what was on offer, she overheard a couple of fellow campers that had been witness to their tent pitching efforts yesterday talking.

“I’m telling you,” the husband (Bill, she remembered was his name) was saying. “It’s impossible to get up there. There’s just no way. It’s a sheer cliff.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know, but I know what I saw. There was a campfire halfway up there on that mountain. So, it’s clearly not impossible to get there. Not if you’re a ghost, anyway.”

Oops, Chloe thought, apparently their little adventure last night hadn’t gone unnoticed. Stupid of them not to consider the fact that ‘their’ mountain and, more importantly, ‘their’ ledge was visible from the camping site. She could only hope that nobody had actually seen Lucifer flying.

“There are no ghosts, honey. Must have been a trick of the light,” Bill said.

“What was?” another man asked, joining them. He wore the outfit of a ranger.

Chloe lingered next to the produce.

Bill told him about the fire his wife thought she had seen, ending with, “but that can’t be right, can it? Nobody could get there.”

“Well,” the ranger said, “I wouldn’t think so, no. But maybe somebody actually was reckless enough to land a kite there. It’s a pretty narrow ledge, but…”

“I did think I saw something large flying near that ledge sometime before I saw the fire,” the wife - Doreen or Dorena or something like that if Chloe remembered correctly - added thoughtfully. “Thought it was a large bird, but I suppose it could have been somebody flying a kite.”

“Well, there you are, then,” the ranger said. “Stupid and reckless, but perfectly natural explanation.”

Chloe hid her grin in the tomatoes.

 

* * *

 

“What does one do on camping trips, anyway?” Lucifer asked, wings hidden, wielding a small spatula and doing whatever he was doing with the camping stove. “I suppose it’s not flying around so much.”

“Walking,” Trixie said, spooning up her cheerios. “Lots and lots of walking. And arguing about which way to go,” she added.

Chloe smiled sadly. Their camping trips as an intact family had been few and far between, but apparently, something about them had stuck in Trixie’s memory.

“Right,” Lucifer said, making crunching sounds with the pepper mill. “What else?”

“Renting bikes and riding around on them a lot, too,” Trixie supplemented. She looked up at the Devil. “Can you ride a bike?”

“Of course. I can ride bikes, horses, camels, donkeys, and tigers. Motorbikes, too.”

“Tigers? Really?” Trixie asked so Chloe didn’t need to.

“Animals love me. Those are just the ones I have in fact ridden. I suppose I could also ride any other animal that’s large enough.”

Trixie peered at him. “Is there anything you can’t do?”

“Apart from sticking to protocol and not making every case we work on about yourself?” Chloe added sweetly, leaning back in her folding chair and looking up at the Devil-cum-chef.

“Touché, my love,” Lucifer said smiling, completely unrepentant. He paused, thinking. “I can’t swim,” he finally said.

Chloe raised her eyebrows. It made sense, sort of, once she thought about it. He wouldn’t have had any opportunity or incentive to learn in Heaven or in Hell. Still. “Weren’t you on earth often enough to learn?” she asked.

“Why should I have? I’m immortal. I can’t drown. I’m at home on the bottom of the sea just as much as I am on land. Well,” he amended, “I suppose I can drown when I’m with you, Chloe. I can certainly get choked.”

“I’ll teach you,” Trixie offered earnestly. “I’m a really good swimmer, Lucifer.”

He scooped the omelette he had made onto a plate. “Okay. What do you ask in return, then?”

“Fly me to school!” Trixie said immediately.

“Too many humans around, Spawn,” Lucifer said regrettingly. “But maybe there is something you’d like me to teach you.”

Trixie screwed up her face in concentration.

“Or,” Chloe interjected, “you could teach Lucifer how to swim without asking for a favor in return, Monkey.”

Lucifer looked at her like she had grown a second head while Trixie smiled immediately and like the little angel that she was. “Okay, Mommy. You’re right.”

“No, no, that wouldn’t help her advance in life, Chloe,” Lucifer said. “How did I get from penniless washup - literally - to wealthy night club owner in three weeks? Certainly not by doing favors without recompense.”

She looked at him, at the genuine incomprehension in his expression. Before, she had been so sure that his occasional cluelessness was all an act, but now she knew that, despite all the time he had spent among humanity, some things about humans were still alien to him. “Yes, but you’re the Devil. It’s your modus operandi. Trixie’s human, and we have this thing called human kindness. We help one another without asking for anything in return.” She paused. “Besides, the little weasel is manipulative enough as it is.”

Trixie grinned in unabashed pride. “Can I teach you today, Lucifer? We could fly to a lake where there are no people around, so nobody will see. Can we, Mommy?”

Chloe looked up at the cloudless sky promising a warm day. “I don’t see why not. Unless Mr. I-don’t-need-a-sleeping-bag also decided not to bring any swimming trunks.”

Lucifer gave her his most angelic smile. “Matter of fact, they were on the list of essentials your offspring gave me earlier. I’m good to go.”

Chloe stashed the dirty dishes together and, in a rare moment of rebelliousness, decided that they would keep. “Great. Pack a bag, gang, and let’s do this.”


	3. Chapter 3

"Look over there,” Trixie said, pointing.

Chloe looked. Near the summit of a craggy hill, sunlight was reflected back at them from a glinting irregular oval, probably the surface of a small lake nestling amongst the uneven terrain and small trees. “That does look nice. What do you think, Lucifer?”

“I’m thinking that we’ve been looking long enough. Let’s see what it’s like from up close.” He descended, banking as he changed course in the direction of the reflected light.

As they flew, the world suddenly turned blue again.

“Bloody hell,” Lucifer muttered into Chloe’s ear. “That’s the third time. Somebody’s looking for us and keeps finding us.”

“That’s not good. Maybe it’s Doreen, or possibly Dorena, from the camping site.” She twisted her head, trying to make out the site. It didn’t take her long - there it was, with the narrow road leading up to it. “We may be visible from back there right now.”

“Can we go back into the real world?” Trixie interjected in a small voice. “I don’t like it here.”

“In a minute, honey,” Chloe said, wrapping her arms around her daughter in reassurance. “Lucifer needs to make sure that we’re not spotted again first.”

Lucifer did so by diving rapidly, the air rustling through his feathers and hissing in their ears, until he was just above tree level, where he caught his dive and leveled off with a few powerful strokes of his wings. The world turned colorful again.

“Thanks, Lucifer,” Trixie said. “This is so much better.”

“Can you tell who it is?” Chloe asked. She still wasn’t sure how this power of his worked. Did he switch planes actively, deliberately, or did it happen subconsciously? Could he feel eyes watching him, or did he have to spot whoever it was?

“All I know is that you’re probably right and they’re back at the camping site, or at least in that direction,” the Devil said. “It’s a strange feeling, as if they’re really close by, which isn’t possible at the altitude we had. Probably binoculars. They do distort things a bit.” He banked again, flapping his wings to avoid a tall tree that loomed in their path.

Trixie giggled as she was yanked around in her harness, already back in a happy mood and enjoying the experience.

Chloe closed her arms tighter around her daughter. “Somebody’s watching us using binoculars? That’s worse, Lucifer.”

“I’m not worried. They haven’t really seen us, or at least not long enough to make out details before I winked us away. Besides, what would they think they’re seeing? I could land right next to them and they’d think it was a special effect.” He flapped his wings more strongly, gaining speed. “On the plus side, we’re approaching our destination. Please refrain from smoking and shagging.”

Smiling fondly, Chloe craned her head, and indeed, the lake was now close enough to make out details. Lucifer flew closer, beginning a wide circle.

“It looks shallow enough on the far end, and there’s even a bit of beach,” Chloe said. “Let’s go down, yeah?”

“As you wish, my consort,” Lucifer intoned.

“What’s a consort?” Trixie put in.

“It’s an old word for partner,” Chloe said.

“For the partner of royalty, to be precise,” Lucifer added. “And since I used to be the Lord of Hell….”

“Does that make Mommy the Lady of Hell?” Trixie asked.

Chloe smiled. That had sounded so wistful. “Not exactly, Monkey,” she said. For one thing, she’d have to marry Lucifer first, have to be Satan’s wife. And wasn’t that a strange, exhilarating thought.

The ground was approaching fast, dispelling her musings. Even though this was only their fourth flight, Chloe already knew to anticipate Lucifer’s movements, the way she had to shift her weight in order to make the landing easier for him, while Trixie just kept instinctively doing the right things anyway.

Lucifer managed to kill his speed completely before touching down, which made for an extremely smooth landing. They disentangled themselves as Lucifer shrugged off the backpack that contained their swimming gear, muttering about packing mules and how he was the Devil, not a mule. Chloe ignored him with the ease of practice.

Ten minutes later, they were all in their swimming outfits, testing the water. The lake was tiny and had full sun exposure all day long, so the water was warm. In spite of that, it was also very clear, and a delight to swim in, as Chloe soon discovered.

With his usual complete disregard for his personal safety, Lucifer waded right in after her and threw himself into the water. He promptly went under. Immediately, he exploded in a flurry of frantic movements, thrashing and splashing as he panicked, trying to regain the surface. His wings appeared, flapping wildly, which at least managed to bring his head back above the water but had the added effect of turning the calm lake into a boiling cauldron with all his flapping and thrashing.

“Lucifer!” Trixie yelled.

Chloe didn’t dare approach him for fear of being hit by his flailing limbs, both feathered and unfeathered, and she shouted for Trixie to stay on the shore. Meanwhile, Lucifer coughed, splashing, and finally managed to drag himself back out of the water and onto the beach, still coughing, and continued to cough, down on hands and knees, his wet wings folded on his back, dripping pathetically.

Chloe supposed she should have known. “Are you okay?” she asked, kneeling down next to him.

He nodded, still coughing. “Bloody hell,” he finally forced out. “That stuff is  _ evil _ .”

“I said not to go in before I’ve shown you how to move your arms and legs, Lucifer,” Trixie admonished over the Devil’s continued coughs. “And that you should hold your breath when your head gets submerged.”

“I’ve never had to hold my breath before in my life,” he groused, voice hoarse from coughing. He flapped his wings, fluffing his feathers and spraying water everywhere, then hid them from sight, and stood up slowly.

“Well, you have to now,” Trixie said sternly, glaring up at him. “Water in your lungs is bad. You could catch pneumonia.”

“Ooh,” Lucifer rasped. “Bossy. Wonder who you get that from, child.” He coughed a few more times. “Vile stuff.”

“No, you just have to move your arms like this,” Trixie said, demonstrating. “Look, I’ll show you.” She marched towards the water.

“No!” Lucifer said, sounding almost scared.

Chloe looked at him, eyebrows raised in a silent question.

So did Trixie.

He opened his mouth, closed it again, and finally said, “You shouldn’t go in there, Beatrice. Water is pure evil.”

“She’ll be fine, Lucifer,” Chloe said, torn between feeling touched by his concern and amused by his newly acquired fear of the water. “She’s known how to swim since she was four.”

As if in confirmation, Trixie ran in and did a dive.

“Gah!” Lucifer said, taking a step towards the water but stopping when Trixie emerged again and began to swim with ease.

“She’ll be fine,” Chloe said again, now firmly on the side of amusement. Lucifer acting like he didn’t know what to do with all these new emotions never ceased to be undeniably cute. “Want to try again, more slowly this time, maybe?”

Lucifer looked at her, all bedraggled, his hair in disarray, and for a second or two, she actually expected him to declare that he was never going to have anything to do with water or swimming ever again. But then his expression grew firm. “Well, I’m not about to be defeated by something I brush my teeth with.”

She smiled at him. “Get back in the saddle, and all that.”

“Hmhm.” Cautiously, he waded in until the water came up to his chest.

Chloe was already swimming at this point. “Look how I’m doing it,” she said, doing a slow breaststroke. “Just move your arms like this and pull up your legs to check whether you’re floating. Then you’re doing it right.”

Visibly tense, he compressed his lips, but did as she said. As his feet lost contact with the ground and the water suddenly came up to his nose, though, his wings shot out fully extended to his sides, like twin floating boards, flapping slowly and effectively keeping his head above the water.

“Sorry,” he said, realizing that he’d barely managed to miss hitting Chloe with his wings. “Reflex.” Then his tense expression slowly dissolved into a grin. “This is actually really easy,” he said, moving his arms and legs and achieving forward momentum, kept afloat by his gently flapping wings. “Like flying in the water.”

Chloe watched him, smiling and shaking her head. “Not how it’s supposed to be done, but whatever floats your… Devil.”

“Oh, haha,” Lucifer said, experimenting with various movements, his feathers looking fuzzy and ethereal in the clear water.

“I started out with water wings as well,” Trixie put in as she paddled by. “Yours are much prettier, though.” She nodded, expression earnest. “Don’t worry, Lucifer, you’ll be able to swim without wings in no time.”

Chloe smiled in amusement.

Lucifer drew the line at learning to dive after two attempts both ended in him coming up coughing and spitting. Apparently, he had never developed a reflex for closing up his throat when water entered his nose the way humans did, and constantly forgot that he couldn’t just keep breathing.

Chloe was glad. She still wasn’t sure whether he could actually get ill in her presence, but if he did, she would prefer his first encounter with human diseases not to be pneumonia of all things.

Lesson over, the Devil was wading out of the water, water running and dripping out of his wings in rivulets, when he stopped short, looking at his right hand. “Bloody hell. I’ve lost my ring.”

They looked at the water, very much aware of how deep it was for its small size, how the bottom was dark and murky and covered in weed.

Chloe supposed that it must have happened during all the frantic splashing when he’d first gone in. His ring could have ended up practically anywhere. “I’m sorry, Lucifer,” she said, “but I don’t think -”

“I’ll go look for it, Lucifer,” Trixie put in enthusiastically, diving in without waiting for a reply.

“Right,” Lucifer said, watching her disappear. “I’m just going to use this opportunity to change forms.” His brows and mouth signalled how sorry he was about this inconvenience, and then he shifted, hair and fair skin melting away to reveal the Devil.

Chloe gestured as if to say that he didn’t have to warn her, or to apologize, however obliquely.

He gave her a brief smile that looked strangely shy on his Devil face, and then he waded into the water, just kept going when it rose over his head, went under, and stayed submerged.

Trixie came up, snorting water out of her nose. “Oh, it’s dark down there!” she complained, looking around. “Where’s Lucifer?”

“He’s looking like the Devil right now, Monkey,” Chloe said, remembering that Trixie hadn’t actually seen Lucifer in his true form yet. “He’s down there. But we don’t have to worry about him accidentally drowning now.”

“Because he’s the Devil?”

“Yeah. The Devil can’t drown. C’mon out, let’s spread out the blankets and see about the snacks while we wait for him to find his ring.”

The underwater search took almost half an hour. Lucifer came up twice, still in his Devil form, seemingly just to complain and to curse in his strangely genteel way. The first time it happened, Trixie clapped her hands over her mouth, eyes round, and did not make a sound, simply nodding when Chloe asked whether she was okay. The second time, she looked at the red-skinned Devil splashing around in the water with a smile of delight, watching him curse a blue streak and disappear again as if it was the most wonderful thing she’d ever seen.

Remembering how she herself had dealt with seeing his Devil form for the first time, Chloe was incredibly proud of her daughter.

Ring safely recovered, Lucifer finally joined them on the blanket, back in his human form. He waited until Trixie was distracted with something before saying softly to Chloe, “Sorry, didn’t think. Is she okay?”

She smiled at him. “She’s fine. Sometimes I think she’s the miracle, not me.”

“Well, I strongly disagree with that notion, Chloe.” Relieved, he stretched out in the sun with a sigh of contentment.

After a while, Trixie looked at him silently, thoughtfully.

“What?” he asked.

“Have you tried putting ointment on it?” Trixie asked.

He blinked owlishly. “No…?”

“I put ointment on Maze’s face, and she said it really helped her,” the girl went on. “I don’t have it here, but we can use sunscreen.” She rummaged around in the bag and pulled out the bottle. “Give me your arm!”

With a brief glance at Chloe that conveyed his helplessness, Lucifer held his arm out to Trixie.

She placed it on top of her crossed legs. “Now turn into the Devil.”

“I  _ am _ the Devil, Beatrice. I can’t ‘turn into’ him.”

“You know what I mean. Turn red, like you did in the lake.”

Lucifer frowned. “Are you sure…?”

“Of course, duh. Your Devil skin is hurt, not this skin. Turn into the Devil!”

“Your wish is my command, Spawn.” He shifted, eyeing her warily.

Chloe, too, watched carefully.

But they needn’t have worried. Expression eager and focused, Trixie carefully scooped some of the sunscreen onto the tip of her index finger and began to dab the stuff onto the red, burned-looking skin of his forearm. “How does that feel?”

“Like a waste of good sunscreen,” Lucifer muttered.

Chloe elbowed him.

“It feels a little sticky, but not too bad,” he amended. “Doubt it’ll do anything, though.”

Chloe elbowed him again.

He looked at her. “What?”

Trixie smeared on more sunscreen. “You have to play along, Lucifer. It’s pretend. I’m your doctor, you’ve been hurt in a fire, and I’m healing you. You have to say things like, ‘this already feels so much better, Doctor, thank you’ and ‘you really are an amazing physician’.”

Lucifer looked at her, opened his mouth, and closed it again. “I’m sorry, Beatrice, but I’m really bad at playing pretend. Mime, yes. Pretend, no. I am what I am, and you are what you are.”

She frowned. “What games did you play, then, when you were little?”

He changed back into his human form and rolled over so the sun shone full on his front, closing his eyes. “I have a lot of older siblings. You’ve met Amenadiel, he’s the oldest. He used to take delight in demonstrating to the rest of us how much stronger he was, so, there was a lot of brawling, competitive games, that sort of thing.” He blinked, shifting his shoulders. “Ugh. My wings are wet and itching. Sorry, ladies, but I have to....” Sitting up and leaning forward, he allowed his wings to appear, stretching them high up into the sunlight and spreading his pinions.

Chloe thought that his feathers did look bedraggled, wet as they were, the barbules sticking together with moisture. She didn’t think he’d be able to fly with them in that state.

Smiling apologetically, Lucifer flapped his wings once, spraying water on everything.

Trixie giggled while Chloe slapped his shoulder. “Hey. You Devil, you.”

Satan grinned, one hand casually reaching for a primary and pulling his fingers down it in a motion that looked practiced, habitual, like a human using a comb.

Chloe scooted closer and joined him, running her hands over the damp feathers on his back where he couldn’t reach, and he immediately slumped forward with a groan of pleasure, stretching his wings forward to allow her access.

They spent a peaceful half hour grooming the Devil’s wings, preening each individual feather, drying them until they were pristine and smooth, ready once more for flight. As she was running her fingers through the warm plumage, Chloe noticed that, even though her thoughts wandered all over the place, they never settled on anything stressful, as if there were no worries in her life, or as if she had completely forgotten about them. It seemed like being so close to an angel’s wings erased all the bad thoughts, leaving only the happy ones.

How lucky she was, how blessed, and how grateful.

 

* * *

Unfortunately, the weather had chosen to literally rain on their plans of spending the night on ‘their’ ledge up on the mountainside. But, Chloe mused, the alternative wasn’t half bad.

They had spread out all their air mattresses, sleeping bags, towels, and blankets on the floor of their tent, covering it and piling up a little along the tent walls like a nest, and were lying in the middle, cuddled together, cushioned from the hardness of the ground by the luxuries of human civilization with Lucifer’s wings curled above them, covering them in their warmth and softness.

The Devil was fast asleep on his back, one arm draped over Trixie snuggled into him, the other loosely holding Chloe, breathing slowly and evenly through his nose. He had stopped glowing as soon as he fell asleep, and the subtle change had roused Chloe, who’d just been about to drop off herself.

She looked at his face, barely visible in the dim light filtering through the tent walls. He looked peaceful. She hoped that he could truly find happiness here, on Earth, with her and Trixie. That this was the right path for him, and, more importantly, that he’d know and accept it if it was. That they’d be able to give him a home here, even though it was nothing like the luxuries of Heaven, even though it was too cold here for a creature used to the fires of Hell.

He’d called her a Devil’s Trap once, meaning that he, whom no lock could hold, was irrevocably bound to her. In her darkest moments, she felt guilty about this, overwhelmed even. No one should be able to capture the Devil. She certainly didn’t want to contain him, or infringe upon his freedom in any way.

At the same time, she had allowed him into her life, had introduced an undeniable element of chaos into the home she had built, or tried to build, for herself. If she didn’t want to allow his Luciferness to undermine everything, she needed to impose her rules upon him, to curtail his actions at least somewhat, if only for the sake of her daughter. That was another thing to feel guilty about, but she didn’t see what she could do to change it. They needed rules, and they needed to abide by them. That went for Lucifer just like it did for Trixie.

And so far, she mused, he’d done remarkably well. The fact that he had allowed Trixie close to him alone was testament to that. He wanted to be a part of her life. He was willing to make an effort. He had said so, and she believed him.

But still. He was the Devil. That was who she had fallen in love with. The last thing she wanted was to change him, to force him to suppress those traits that made him so captivating, so Lucifer. She didn’t want her daughter to grow up too fast either, like Chloe had been forced to. They both deserved to keep their intrinsic natures; Trixie’s fondness of chocolate cakes, and Lucifer’s inappropriateness; Trixie’s fearless acceptance of angels, demons, and devils, and Lucifer’s effortless temptation he exuded simply by being.

She hoped that they could find a way to meet in a middle ground they could both live with.


	4. Chapter 4

Chloe woke up to something brushing over her hair.

Her eyes snapped open, a part of her immediately worried about spiders, which were a definite and constant possibility on camping trips. Another part, one that had learned to expect a new repertoire of early-morning touches, remained calm, convinced that it was only the Devil caressing her.

And so it was. She found Lucifer’s eyes, rimmed by his ridiculously long black lashes, right next to hers, regarding her earnestly; his hand had settled on her hair, and one of his wings was blocking her view to the tent ceiling.

He opened his mouth, probably to apologize for waking her, but she beat him to it.

“Do you know,” she said softly, in deference to Trixie who was hopefully still asleep, “that I’ve reached a point in my life where I’m more afraid of spiders than I am of the Devil?”

He smiled. “I should hope so. Nasty little creatures.” His hand again stroked over her hair. “Sorry about waking you. You were looking so beautiful that I couldn’t keep my hand off you.” He blinked. “Can you forgive me?”

She extricated a hand to anchor it in his tousled hair to reciprocate. “Bad Devil.”

His eyes were dark, liquid pools. “Well, you know me and temptation.”

She smiled by way of response. That way lay a mountain of issues she still had to resolve for herself, dovetailing quite nicely into the thoughts she’d had falling asleep.

Since they’d made their thing a real thing, she hadn’t noticed any other woman (or man) with Lucifer whom she’d suspect of being a one-night stand. She was certain that he hadn’t slept with anyone but her since they had gotten together, even though they had never discussed exclusivity. And despite the kindling of low-key rage in her gut at the mere thought of him with another, she didn’t even know whether she’d bring it up at all. Yesterday, she’d worried about curtailing his freedom, so how could she turn around and ask him to stop sleeping around? Still, she hoped he’d given her his fidelity freely and voluntarily, like she had for him. She hoped, but she wouldn’t demand. At least, that’s what she told herself.

He seemed to realize that something was bothering her, because he frowned. “What?” His expression brightened. “Did I interrupt a saucy dream? We could always…”

“You know we can’t,” she interrupted him, “much as I regret it, and no, it’s not that. But we shouldn’t talk about it here and now.”

He paled visibly and swallowed hard, and she realized her mistake.

Even after all the time they’d been together, she was very aware that he still wasn’t feeling secure in their thing. His reaction just then once again told her that he kept expecting her to end it at any minute, possibly to decide that he was too abrasive, too much effort, too high maintenance, too alien, too  _ Lucifer  _ for her to put up with him any longer, no matter what she said or how often she said it. And so, the mere mention of wanting to talk to him still sent him into a controlled panic.

“Oh, Lucifer,” she said softly, scooted closer to him, threw one look at Trixie to check whether she was still asleep, and kissed him.

His arm came up around her, carefully holding her to him as if she were made of spun glass, his lips very warm and soft against hers, not demanding, just going along with her cues. She wondered how long it would take him to finally feel safe enough to make his own desires known, to be more playful, to take risks with her, to test the strength of her commitment. To get over this fear of losing her that right now was all but paralyzing him.

She ended the kiss, her hands in his hair, placing his forehead against hers. “What am I supposed to do with you?” she whispered, hoping he’d at least turn that into one of his usual innuendos.

When he didn’t even do that and merely looked at her with a forlorn expression, she figured it was time for the big guns. Leaving one hand on his face, she slipped the fingers of her other one into the feathers of the wing she could reach, deeper and deeper, until she could touch the hot skin beneath, stroking his face at the same time.

To her relief, it worked. His breath left his lungs in a rapturous sigh as he pressed his face into her hand, his wing trembling as she petted it, the Devil thoroughly distracted by the power of this non-sexual contact where the kiss hadn’t managed to, and sex probably wouldn’t have worked, either. She kept going, intending to blast his insecurity to high Heaven, where it should never have been fostered in the first place, while he gasped and shivered, his hand fluttering on her back in indecision whether to follow his need for her closeness or to allow her movement so she could continue to work her magic.

After a few minutes, he pulled in his wing and his arm, hugging her against him with skin and feathers, pressing his lips against the side of her face. “I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I’ve done it again, haven’t I.”

“Don’t be sorry,” she said, still stroking his face. “I understand.”

“This can’t be easy for you,” he said in a rare moment of reflection, forcing his eyes open to look at her. “And I’m making it even harder, no pun intended. For once.”

She smiled. “I’m a mother, Lucifer. Learning to deal with you will be good practice for when Trixie’s in her teens.”

He managed to return the smile. “Are you saying I’m a teenager?”

“Hmm, in some ways, definitely. But it’s adorable. You’re adorable. Besides, none of it is your fault, I know that. I blame the almighty God entirely.”

Now, the look in his eyes turned soft. “You truly are a miracle, Chloe. I’ve known saints that had less patience and less understanding than you.”

 

* * *

 

When Chloe carried the plastic bowl containing their dirty breakfast dishes to the communal facilities for washing up, she noticed a number of tents clustered together that hadn’t been there yesterday. They were small and clearly not meant for long stays. A group of people milled around the tents, in the process of taking some of them down and packing them into backpacks. Quite few people among the group were wearing binoculars around their necks.

With a sinking feeling, she took a small detour to wander close to them, hoping to snatch up bits of conversation. Then she noticed the park ranger among them, also wearing binos, and Doreen (Dorena?) next to him. She was pointing in the direction of the little lake they had been to yesterday. 

Dammit. Looked like someone had seen Lucifer flying again.

Walking up to the ranger, she introduced herself.

The ranger, a tall, powerfully built man with obvious Irish roots, smiled at her. “Hi Chloe, I’m Sean, Sean Simmons. Are you joining us?” He nodded at the bowl in Chloe’s hands. “We’re leaving in twenty minutes.” 

“Oh! No, I’m not joining, I was just wondering what’s going on.” She looked at the binocular’d people. “Bird watchers?” she added innocently.

“Delegation from some nearby ornithologist clubs, or something, apparently,” Sean said. “Seems there have been sightings of an albino condor, and everyone’s pretty excited about that. Poor thing must have gotten lost to have ended up this far north, or maybe it’s an escapee from the nearby sanctuary.”

Chloe bit her lip. That sounded pretty definite. Someone must have seen Lucifer’s wings, however briefly, in order to be able to tell that they were white.

“I saw something yesterday,” Doreen chimed in excitedly. “Huge and white, really beautiful. Only for like a second, then I lost it. Just disappeared. Like magic.” 

“Really,” Chloe commented.

The ranger smiled apologetically as if to say don’t mind her. “Anyway, they’ve hired me to guide them around, maybe set up a base camp near that mesa over there -” he pointed at the mountain with ‘their’ ledge on it - “and stay there a couple of nights, hoping to catch sight of it.”

“Oh, okay,” Chloe said noncommittally. Trixie was not going to like this.

“Some folk staying on campground are joining, so, if you’re interested, Chloe…?”

“No, thank you, Sean,” she said quickly. “Birds aren’t really my thing.”

 

* * *

 

“We can’t go flying today, or tomorrow,” Chloe announced as soon as she was close enough to her family, and far enough away from everyone else.

“Why not?” Trixie wanted to know while Lucifer raised his eyebrows at her questioningly.

She told them about the ornithologist expedition taking place even now.

“An albino condor, me?” Lucifer said with an expression like he’d tasted something sour. “Those ugly things? Possibly among the top ten ugliest animals my Father created. Well, that offends me.”

He looked as if he was about to get up and stalk over to the bird watchers and show them the error of their ways. Amused, Chloe put a hand on his chest to stop him. “I’m sure it’s just about the wingspan, Lucifer.”

He glared. “Well, in that case, they couldn’t be more wrong. The shape of wings is completely different. Also, I’m way bigger.” Predictably, his glare dissolved into a grin. “Wouldn’t you say?”

Chloe was not about to go there in front of Trixie, but she found herself smiling nevertheless, half at his predictability and half with genuine appreciation.

“A condor this far north would be quite a long way from home, too,” Lucifer added, displaying a knowledge of the animal kingdom Chloe hadn’t suspected he had.

“Apparently, they think it may have gotten lost, or maybe it escaped from a sanctuary. There is one not too far away from here, actually,” Chloe explained.

“But I wanted to sleep on the ledge tonight!” Trixie put in, pouting slightly. “You promised, Mommy! How will we get there if Lucifer can’t fly?”

“Well, I’m sorry, Monkey, but we can’t risk it. Not until those guys have gone away again.” She saw her daughter’s disappointed face and searched her mind for something to to do instead that didn’t involve Lucifer flying them anywhere and coming up empty. Seemed like having Angel transport available so readily did spoil one for anything more mundane.

“Couldn’t we fly through the blue world to the ledge?” Trixie asked hopefully, before Chloe could think of anything.

“We could,” Lucifer said, “but honestly, that’d be more dangerous than letting humans see us. You see, Beatrice, the blue world is the Infernal plane. In other words, that’s where Hell is. I’d rather only stay there for a few seconds at a time, so none of its denizens spot us.”

Chloe stared at him. “Why didn’t you mention that little detail before? I thought it was perfectly safe!”

“Well,” he said, “it is. It’s a lot safer than, say, driving a car, if you don’t overstay your welcome.” He widened his eyes. “I would never deliberately endanger you or your daughter, Chloe. There’s a calculated and very low risk, provided I only go there for short spans of time.”

He didn’t lie. She could trust him completely - she did trust him. “Okay,” she said, mollified.

“But, Mommy…!” Trixie said, well on her way to whining. “What if these guys don’t go away all week? We couldn’t go flying again at all!”

Chloe opened her mouth to say something along the lines of being able to go flying even once being a privilege no one else on this planet could currently enjoy, and how they might, say, spend a few days hiking, the way they had done before, and how that was what camping trips were supposed to be about, anyway. 

But Lucifer beat her to it. “Well, small human, fortunately, you’ve got the Devil on your team, who may be able to swing something.” He rose from his folding chair and squared his shoulders. “Be back in an hour or so. Suggest you start packing for our overnight stay.”

“Where are you -” Chloe began, but he was gone, leaving behind a gust of wind that blew all the paper napkins off the table.

 

* * *

 

About an hour later, he appeared again out of thin air the way he had disappeared, an enigmatic smirk on his face. No matter how much Trixie pestered him, he wouldn’t say where he had been or what he had done, beyond a cryptic “made a new friend”. 

Still looking smug, he settled back on his folding chair, took off his hiking boots and socks, wiggled his toes, and began to play with the cupholder in the armrest of the chair, clearly enjoying the looks Chloe and Trixie were giving him.

“Settle down, ladies,” he said after a minute of basking in their attention, “it’ll take him a bit to get here. Might as well be comfortable.” After which, of course, he refused to elaborate.

“You like keeping us in suspense,” Chloe accused him, settling down on her own chair next to his and immobilizing his hand to keep him from accidentally destroying the cupholder.

The Devil grinned, curling his fingers around hers. “Immensely.”

She looked at Trixie eyeing them hopefully. “Well, as long as it pans out.”

It did, but only another half hour or so later, when a big bird appeared high in the sky, slowly soaring in a wide circle with the campground in its center.

“Ah, there he is,” Lucifer said, raising his hand briefly in a wave.

The bird gave a cry, quite obviously in response. After a few more minutes, it began to soar back the way it had come, which happened to be the other way from the mountain.

“Is that a condor?” Chloe asked, squinting at the bright blue sky.

“Yes. Not an albino, though. Couldn’t find one. Figured it wouldn’t make a difference.”

“How did you….”

“You had mentioned a sanctuary, my love, so I flew there and asked one of its denizens to do me a favor in a exchange for a brief moment of freedom. He agreed. I freed him, and he’s holding up his end of the bargain by showing himself here. He’ll be on his way back now, probably in time for lunch.” 

“You can talk to animals?” Wide-eyed, Trixie latched onto the, to her, only salient point.

“Obviously. I’m the Devil, I can speak any language, human or animal.”

Trixie stared at him, visibly adding another level to her hero-worship. “We’ve got to go to the zoo together someday, Lucifer,” she said.

“Not unless you want to get really, really depressed, child.”

 

* * *

 

Half an hour later, the ornithologists were stampeding along the trail, following in the condor’s wake and away from the mountain and ‘their’ ledge, chattering excitedly.

Lucifer rose from his chair and clapped his hands together once. “Right. Let’s get going, ladies.”

 

* * *

 

They flew low above the ground this time, just barely clearing the tops of the tallest trees, and fast, much faster than before, Lucifer giving a mere indication of the speed he was capable of flying.

Only when he had reached the mountain did he climb, quickly, not soaring and circling upwards on the thermals as before but actively gaining height with each powerful stroke of his long white wings, keeping close to the face of the mountain for cover.

Chloe could hear his quickened, deep breaths close to her ear, could feel his muscles working in his chest with each flap of his wings. Could hear the grin in his voice when he asked if they were okay. Clearly, he was having the time of his life pitching his angelic strength against earthly gravity like this. 

The landed on the ledge only minutes later, without once having had to cross through the Infernal plane. Lucifer held Chloe close to his body, putting her down carefully, flapping his wings slowly as he caught his balance. He was still grinning.

So was Trixie. Her little monkey was practically glowing with joy as she unclipped herself and freed herself from the harness, looking in awe at the spectacular view they had up here, and Chloe realized that, from now on, it was going to be difficult for Trixie to find this kind of joy in ordinary human things again.

Well. Who was she kidding? She wasn’t any better. Lucifer had spoiled her, both for a professional partner and for a romantic one, and now he was well on his way to spoiling her for a future husband. Clearly, once you threw your lot in with the Devil, there was no way out. 

Trapping the Devil, she had become trapped herself, and she was glad.

 

* * *

 

“That one is what humans call Orion, the hunter. Those three stars in a row are his belt. The cloudy cluster beneath is his sword, and I do mean a sword, not what you’re thinking, you naughty girl.”

 Smiling, Chloe looked at the starry sky where Lucifer was pointing, settled comfortably on her back with one of his wings cushioning her, his arm around her keeping her warm.

They had foregone a fire this time, not wanting to draw attention to their little refuge again, which had made looking at the stars a natural activity as soon as darkness had fallen. LA citizens so rarely saw them, after all. Trixie had stopped asking questions a while ago, which Chloe took to mean that she was asleep, also surrounded by feathers and angelic warmth, as safe on this exposed ledge as she could possibly be anywhere on Earth.

“Orion has had many other names,” Lucifer went on with his star constellation tour. “Sipazianna, Hayk, Kesil. Some ancient cultures thought he’s the ancestor of the Nephilim, half angel half human, which would make him an angel. I suppose he could be. I don’t know any brother by that name, or by any of Orion’s other names, but maybe he was created after I Fell. But there’s not just one ancestor of half-angels. Any one of us could make them, at the risk of pissing off Dad.” He paused. “Well, in my case, I suppose I’ve already pissed Him off, so. Also, my spawn wouldn’t just be a Nephilim, but the Antichrist as well. At least according to popular opinion.”

Chloe blinked, struck by a thought. They’d had unprotected sex, and often, because she’d trusted Lucifer when he said that he wouldn’t get her pregnant. This was definitely sounding like it was a possibility, though. “Are you saying that I should do a pregnancy test, in case we set off the Apocalypse?” she said, only half joking.

His arm tightened about her. “Don’t worry, my love. Popular opinion is wrong about a lot of things. If we ever decided to produce another spawn, it wouldn’t be the Antichrist, or Rosemary’s baby, or any of the other legends about my offspring humans love so much. Wouldn’t be a normal human, either, to be sure, but it certainly wouldn’t be any kind of monster.”

“Lucifer,” she said, “do I need to do a pregnancy test?”

“I thought you didn’t want another offspring.”

“I never said that. So, is that a no?”

He turned his head towards her, and she could feel his warm breath as he dropped a kiss into her hair. “If you’re pregnant, Chloe, it’s not mine.”

She put her hand on his where it rested on her abdomen. “But it could be. You’re not, like, infertile. Is that what you’re saying?” 

“Well.” She could feel him shift his position, his wings curling up around his adopted family, covering them, shielding them from the increasing night chill. “You do negate some of my powers, but normally, both of us would have to wish for a spawn during the act, and at the same time. When a celestial being is involved, procreation is a process of active creation. It doesn’t just happen, like it does for you humans. So no, I’m not infertile in the way you humans understand it. It’s a matter of choice for me.”

“Right,” she said. “So, something may have happened. Since, you know, I negate your powers.” She didn’t know how she felt about that.

“Chloe, nothing has happened. I would certainly have felt it if there had been a spark of creation when we had sex.”

Oh. 

_Oh!_ Now she knew how she felt. She felt  _ disappointed _ . Something inside of her actually wouldn’t have minded having another child. Lucifer’s child.

 Well, well, well. She obviously needed to have a heart-to-heart with her subconscious about being so far ahead of her when her brain was barely coming to terms with being in a relationship with the Devil.

 

* * *

 

The night ended with the dawn. Literally, in this case, because Trixie was wide awake as soon as the first tendrils of light outlined the silhouettes of hills and mountains and the coastline, unable to go back to sleep because being up here was so  _ exciting _ .

They sat, Chloe behind Lucifer, her hands on his back and his wings fully stretched out to both sides of him as she petted him between his shoulderblades, while Trixie sat in front of him, leaning against his chest, going on excitedly about how she was going to be an angelrider when she grew up before jumping to the next thought that flitted through her mind.

“Are there baby angels, Lucifer? With fluffy downy wings that can’t fly yet? If you and Mommy had a child, would they have wings?”

Chloe wondered how much Trixie had heard last night.

“Can’t you, I don’t know, put a muzzle on your spawn, Chloe?” Lucifer complained indistinctly, head bowed, wings trembling in ecstasy as Chloe carded her hands through his feathers. 

Trixie giggled, wriggling contentedly. “Can I sit on your back next time we fly? With a harness around your head so I can steer you?”

“Kinky,” Lucifer commented, nearly purring with pleasure, shoulders hunched forward.

“He’s not a horse, Trix,” Chloe put in, worried about her daughter overstepping her boundaries even though she’d never seen Lucifer get truly angry at her or at Trixie.

“Dragons get harnesses, too,” Trixie objected.

“But the Devil doesn’t,” Chloe said, removing one hand from Lucifer’s feathers to reach around him and ruffle Trixie’s hair.

“Under certain circumstances, he totally does,” Lucifer said, and she could hear the grin in his voice. 

She removed her other hand to ruffle his hair. “Stop that thought right there, Satan.”

“I’ll stop if you won’t, my love.”

Obligingly, she went back to petting him, knowing that he always honored his deals.

 

* * *

 

Three days later, they were on their way back home.

Trixie was already planning their next trip; Lucifer, riding shotgun this time, wasn’t advancing any objections, and Chloe was lost in her thoughts.

Thoughts about taking their thing to the next level, about commitment and vows in the eyes of God, even about creating a spark together. Daunting thoughts. Thoughts she hadn’t expected to ever be thinking again, after Dan.

“How fast could you fly us to Australia?” Trixie was asking.

“With or without you holding my head in a harness, Spawn?” the Devil returned.

Chloe tuned them out. God Himself would be her father-in-law. The Heavenly Host of His Angels would be her brothers and sisters-in-law. Family reunions would be… something else. And her Mom would be over the moon, of course. Once she got over the shock of her daughter marrying the Devil himself.

_ How about it, God? Would that redeem him in Your eyes, finally? Would he be allowed back into the Silver City, after eons of roughing it in exile? _

“I’ll have to write an essay about what I did on our trip,” Trixie was saying.

“Yes? And?”

“Nobody will believe me.”

“Welcome to my life, child.”

“Will you help me write it so I can put in some of what we did, and not make it sound like a dream, Lucifer?”

“You know I don’t lie.”

“It’s not lying, it’s… creative editing.”

“Not telling the whole truth, you mean.”

“Yes!” 

“Well. I suppose I can help you with that, then.”

“Cool!”

When Chloe next emerged from her thoughts (this time about trying to teach right and wrong to a little half-Devil), Lucifer was fast asleep on the passenger seat next to her, and Trixie was in a similar state, sprawled on the back seat.

Smiling, Chloe drove on, back to LA and to her new life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thus ends this part of fluff. I don't think I've ever written so much fluff in a row, lol. I'm insured, so, if anyone's teeth have suffered too much, come at me! ;-)
> 
> Thank you all so much for all the kudos and comments (that I've been so woefully remiss in replying to). Special thanks to thedeckerstarnetwork at tumblr for plugging my work - much appreciated! This fandom truly is so lovely and welcoming that I'm a little overwhelmed. <3
> 
> I've been asked whether I take prompts. The answer is yes and no - I may let myself be influenced towards writing something, but only if that was where I was going with it anyway ;-)


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